The Cancer Center Director has the responsibility and authority to set priorities and to develop new programs for the Cancer Center. Faculty and senior leadership are the primary drivers in developing the focus of new research areas. External consultants and seminar speakers provide new perspectives on emerging areas of research and provide useful advice for possible future research directions. The Cancer Center leadership and several internal advisory groups serve to develop a specific set of goals from identified opportunities and available resources. The External Scientific Advisory Committee (EXSAC) meets each spring to review existing programs and proposed recruitment and scientific targets that have been developed by the senior leadership and faculty. These discussions inform the recruitment targets and planning efforts that begin each fall. Once new research goals are set, faculty are encouraged to pursue and support these goals through incentives that include pilot project funding, research instrumentation purchases, development of shared facilities, and recruitment of new faculty who are potential collaborators. Identification of shared facility and common equipment needs originates with the investigators and their laboratory staff, and is integrated at the level of the Internal Steering and Shared Resources Committees. Program members serving on recruitment committees identify and recommend the selection of new faculty, who bring to the Cancer Center new research areas, technologies, and opportunities for collaboration. The main internal advisory bodies include: i) the Cancer Center Executive Committee, ii) the Internal Steering Committee, iii) the Membership Committee and iv) the Shared Resources Committee. The External Scientific Advisory Committee (EXSAC) currently has 10 members representative of a broad spectrum of cancer research. Funding in the amount of $10,000 is requested for the annual meeting of the EXSAC; $5,000 is requested for the annual Cancer Center member retreat, and $6,000 is requested for planning and evaluation meetings for the Scientific Program groups.